HomeAASL selects 2007 NSLMPY Award winners

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For Immediate Release

May 4, 2007

AASL selects 2007 NSLMPY Award winners

CHICAGO -Norman (Okla) Pubic School District, Harpeth Hall School in Nashville, Tenn., and North Elementary School in Noblesville, Ind., will receive this year's prestigious National School Library Media Program of the Year Award (NSLMPY) from the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).  The award is sponsored by Follett Library Resources. The honor will be presented at the AASL Awards Luncheon at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. on Monday, June 25, 2007.

The 2007 School District award goes to Norman Public Schools in Norman, Oklahoma, with 21 schools serving 13,000 students.  The Norman library media program is aligned with the overall district plan of instruction, resulting in numerous opportunities for creative and innovative collaboration. There is evidence of strong support from central administration, and the library media program is an important component of the district’s long-range strategic plan. The program is further strengthened through ongoing, cooperative relationships with the local community, including the Pioneer Library System and the University of Oklahoma School of Library and Information Studies.

The Harpeth Hall, in Nashville, Tennessee, has been named a winner in the Single School Category. Harpeth Hall is a private college prepatory school for girls in grades five through twelve. Library staff have instigated a vigorous outreach program to teachers in every curricular area, and work in partnership with their colleagues to instruct students in effective uses of technology and applications of research skills. Successful efforts have been made to increase and enhance student leisure reading, especially at the high school level. The library itself has become the physical hub of the campus, an inviting and appealing site for students and staff alike.

North Elementary School, in Noblesville, Indiana, also has been named one of two Single School Category winners for 2007.  North is one of six elementary schools in Noblesville Schools, and serves over 400 students in grades Early Childhood through Grade 4. The library media staff actively collaborate with classroom teachers and support personnel to instill information seeking and problem solving skills in all students, crossing all grade levels and serving all populations. The library media program plays an essential role in each grade’s yearlong plan, supporting and enhancing annual themes and standards.

"The common component these programs share is the seamless integration of the library media program into every aspect of teaching and learning," said Kathleen McBroom, chair of the NSLMPY Award Subcommittee. "Library media specialists are equal partners in the educational process. Library media staff participate in curriculum development, lesson planning, delivery of instruction, and assessment of student learning. In each instance, students, colleagues and administrators cite numerous examples of how the library media program has made a profound difference in their educational experience. "

The committee also includes James F. Bennett; Sharon Courtney, acquisitions editor with Libraries Unlimited; Katherine Lowe, president and executive director of the Massachusetts School Library Association; and Nancy Miller of INTEConsulting, Lafayette, Ind.